Deriving Life by Elizabeth Bear - A Short Story Review

This is another story of loss and mourning in the Tor.com January - February 2019 collection.  But this time it tackles the horrible experience of watching your loved one die.

The narrator here is not the easiest person to like but that's also what makes the story compelling.

There is a science-fictiony element to the story, where beings can occupy a dying person's body to give them a pain-free end of life.  People are not cured but the journey is not as terrible as it could be.  However, I found this aspect of the story to be unnecessary.

I've certainly seen the author's name around for years and I've always had her on my TBR list.  This is the first story of hers that I've read and I must say that I've been missing out.  If this is the kind of work she produces then I am already a fan.

There is a quiet confidence in the storytelling that I found compelling.

To be honest, I put the story down a few times just so I could come back to it later.  It was an uncomfortable thing to read but I was taken by how I was able to connect with it.

Well done indeed.

Elizabeth's website - https://www.elizabethbear.com/

Elizabeth Bear

Beyond the El by John Chu - A Short Story Review

I cannot remember how I came across this little collection of stories from Tor.com but there it was waiting for me in my Kobo app.  The ebook contains six stories.  This was the first.

It was a sad story about a waiter coping with the loss of his mother and how he tries to recreate her dumplings.

There is much more going on here than just that.  As he comes to terms with the loss of his mother he has to contend with his cunning and self-involved big sister who takes advantage of him at every opportunity.

The other employees of the restaurant see that he is suffering and offer help which is always politely refused.  But there is one person whom the main character has a connection.

This was a charming story.

John Chu's website - http://www.johnchu.net/

The link to this story - https://www.tor.com/2019/01/16/beyond-the-el-john-chu/

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor - Book Report #249

Right from the start, I was put off by the aliens. I can’t help it; I am instantly bored when I’m confronted with space-jellyfish that breath clouds of gas out their transparent domes.  Then there all the strange words to learn, that take me out of the story, before the plot can move on.

But, since I enjoyed the first book, I forced my way through all that exposition. 

Throughout the book I found myself pushing through it.  I was never taken by the story because, well, there wasn't one.  Binti is lovely and ultimately misunderstood, resented and mistrusted. 

Honestly, I don’t actually know why the author chose SF to tell this story.  It’s a story of a person wanting more from her life than tradition allows. 

Although I prefer stories about people being people, I have no patience for bigotry and unending self-doubt.  I like it when they are trying to accomplish something.  This navel-gazing and emotional hand-wringing that comes from keeping people in their “place” really makes me weary and angry. 

I want to see us overcome but, for 162 pages, nothing actually happened

On and on and on and on, Binti struggled with her self-identity and prejudice, her own and from others.  Obviously, Okorafor has something to say, I just wish she could have said it in the context of a story, with a plot.

I am so disappointed in this book since I was taken by the first one.

Nnedi Okorafor's website - http://nnedi.com/

Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor - Book Report #248

Lovely.  Different. Scary. Inspiring.

Binti is a young woman who decides to leave everything behind; her family, her home, her life and her planet, to attend Oomza University in a far off solar system.

Along the way she makes friends and discovers the hatred and violence of the Meduse, an alien race in conflict with her very university.

This is the kind of SF I generally don't go for, with aliens and magical super-powers.  I like to read Mundane, Hard SF.

But there is something special about the fish out of water story; I always find myself hoping the best for our character.

Binti is a terrific character too.  She is so strong and determined and yet she suffers the self-doubt we all do.

It is through this character that I was willing to put my biases aside and read on.  I am glad that I did.  It was a rewarding story and I have ordered the next installment in the series.  I am looking forward to spending more time in Nnedi Okorafor's capable hands.

Recommended.

Nnedi Olorafor's website - http://nnedi.com/

Nnedi Okorafor

Runtime by S B Divya - Book Review #246

Mary Margaret Guinto, better known as Marmeg is a poor girl, living in the ghettos of Los Angeles and trying to make a better life for herself.

She is an augmented woman who uses an exoskeleton to get around and do her job as a bouncer.  But the gear and chip implants are expensive.  She has managed to cobble together her gear from cast-offs, used goods and some creative dumpster diving.

In order to fast track her desire to make a better life for herself, go to university, get a decent job and help her family, she enters the Minerva Sierra Challenge.  This is an annual cross-country endurance race for augments.  The prize money would get her out of her situation.

One of the joys of this book was the contrast of hightech against the rugged backwoods mountainscape.

The only quibble I have was the gender neutral pronouns - I still find words like Zir and Zie awkward and they tend to take me out of the story.  But that is exactly what is good about science fiction; it attempts to normalize the things we are just coming to terms with today and show us a possible future and nomenclature that may be a new normal.

Other than that I was very happy with the story and enjoyed how believable and natural the characters were written.  The author has a perfect touch at depicting the human impact of the situations.

I also have to give credit to Tor for publishing short novels like this one, it came it at 116 pages.  It's a nice throwback to the paperback days when novels seldom passed the 200 page mark.  It makes the storytelling crisp and keeps the plot moving along.  This is a very enjoyable length.

S B Divya's website - http://www.eff-words.com/

S B Divya

Escape Plus, A Short Story Collection by Ben Bova - Book Review #245

I've always had trouble dealing with collections.  I review each story individually thinking that if a reader of this blog wants to know more about the anthology itself he or she would find the label of the title, click on it and - voila! the entire book reviewed on one page.

But that seems like a lot of trouble and not always very intuitive.  So I've decided that with this book and going forward, once I've reviewed every story, I will publish a collection of links.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All in all this was a very enjoyable read.  Most of the stories worked for me and I am glad I spent time with it.

I am always thankful for collections like this, as it is often difficult to follow an author's work in the short story field.

Escape! -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/03/escape-by-ben-bova.html

A Slight Miscalculation -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/03/a-slight-miscalculation-by-ben-bova.html

Vince's Dragon -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/04/vinces-dragon-by-ben-bova.html

The Last Decision -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/04/the-last-decision-by-ben-bova.html

Men of Goodwill -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/04/men-of-good-will-by-ben-bova.html

Blood of Tyrants -

http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2018/04/blood-of-tyrants-by-ben-bova.html

The Next Logical Step -

https://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-next-logical-step-by-ben-bova.html

The Shining Ones -

https://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-shining-ones-by-ben-bova.html

Sword Play -

https://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.com/2018/05/sword-play-by-ben-bova.html

A Long Way Back -

https://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-long-way-back-by-ben-bova.html

Stars, Won't You Hide Me?

https://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.com/2018/05/stars-wont-you-hide-me-by-ben-bova.html

Ben Bova's website - http://benbova.com/

Ben Bova

All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - Book Review #244

Remember Peter Weller in Robocop?  Part man, part machine?

Murderbot is a bit like that; the central core of the "product" is biological, a cloned human being, but with only rudimentary free will - he can make decisions within a task but cannot decide between tasks.  Unless he has managed to hack into and subvert his governor module.

This is the big secret, he may be a security unit, known as a SecUnit, assigned to a small team of planetary explorers but he is not under their complete control.

The drama gets rolling when it is discovered that another nearby base has lost communications.  The team goes to investigate.

The story is narrated by Murderbot himself.  I’ve got to admit “Murderbot” is a pretty compelling name and I wanted to know why he called himself that. Only glimpses of his past are revealed.

Martha Wells has done a nice job of delivering a tense thriller and gave the protagonist unexpected depth.  The story is layered and I was happy to be introduced to the larger universe this one story occupies.  This is a perfect way to dive into a Space Opera; start with a small group of characters in a small place, in this case a far off planet, and then return them to their homes and you get a natural way to introduce the reader to a larger world.

I am certainly looking forward to reading the second instalment. 

Martha Wells' website - http://www.marthawells.com/

Martha Wells

Gate Crashers by Patrick S. Tomlinson - Boork Review #240

I want to thank Tor Books for continuing to expand my library to new and unusual authors.

This is billed as SF comedy, which got me interested right away.  To do good comedy you have to be confident in your knowledge of the genre.  I thought Tomlinson did an excellent job of it. The book was at times absurd but he never allowed himself to go over the top in the way that Douglas Adams got lost in his own creativity.  No.  The story was well thought out and planned.

Where the humour worked best was in the relationships between the crews of the Magellan and the Bucephalus.  It was people being people in a strange situation that gave rise to most of the humour.

I must say I was captivated by Tomlinson’s take on the First Contact trope.  Humanity has pushed into interstellar space but FTL has not been achieved.  Even with this limitation the exploration crew of the Magellan discover the actual limits of space, at least to humans.

An artifact is found drifting in space and, after it is brought on board to be examined, well, everything changes.

Honestly this was a lovely book, filled with warmth to humanity but absolutely cognizant of how ridiculous we can be.

I was very happy that the heart and soul of the book was the out-of-his-depth scientist Felix Fletcher and the level-headed captain of the Magellan, Alison Ridgeway.

To give you some idea of the comedy I’d say the antagonists are similar to the ones found in the movie The Fifth Element and that is as out-there as the characters get.  The rest of it has the feel of The Orville.  It’s an interesting blend of the competently humours meeting an overconfident race that has been its apex for centuries.

The book works perfectly as a stand alone novel but it has certainly been set up for sequels.  According to the author’s website there will be at least two more instalments.

I look forward reading more from this author.  Lucky for me this is not his first novel.

NOTE -  I loved the inclusion of the sketches of the ships.  Publishers need to do that kind of thing more often.  A little illustration here and there adds much to the visuals of a story.

Check Patrick S Tomlinson’s web page at:  http://www.patrickstomlinson.com/

Patrick S Tomlinson

Dayfall by Michael David Ares - Book Report #222

This was a terrific read.

I am a big fan of SF mysteries, which can have a wonderful twist on the noir novel.

If you're a bit of a detective fiction fan you'll love the sprinkling of classic PI names used throughout the book. That little tip of the hat made me extremely happy.

I was a little bit apprehensive when I started the book since it used an antagonist that I simply do not like - the crazy serial killer.  There is something about insane characters that I just find so boring.  Give me an antagonist with some real intelligence, passion and a willingness to take calculated actions and you've got a winner with me.

The opening scene establishes our main character and protagonist Detective Jon Phillips as a brash, young and dedicated police officer.  Much like a good Bond movie the book starts with a chase scene and the wrapping up of a case, which sets the tone of the book.

The novel is set in a not-too-distant future, in the years following a nuclear war.  Interestingly, the exchange of missiles did not occur between the US and Russia.  All of this is exposition but I did appreciate the author's touch at allowing other parts of the world to play a part in the story.  Far too much fiction today makes the West, and the US in particular, the center of the universe.  It's just refreshing to expand the world, just a little bit.

Jon Phillips' work in the opening pages gets him noticed and sent to New York city to help in solving the case of the Dayfall Killer.  Dayfall is an environmental event that has had people worried for some years.  After the nuclear war the Earth was subjected to a long period of darkness as the ash made its way into the atmosphere to block out the sun for years.  Now that the cloud cover is predicted to dissipate and the return of direct sunlight is anticipated, there is growing worry that the light may drive the population into a kind of frenzy.  The Dayfall Killer is singled out as an example of what may happen.

Capture the Dayfall Killer in time and you may help to calm the citizens of New York.

Having just seen the movie Blade Runner 2049, I was eager to enjoy more of that kind of story.  I was not disappointed.  It was so much fun to see New York as it coped with a changed environment and how the society changed with it.

The story was very satisfying and believable.  I kept returning to the book every chance I got.  In another nod to the old detective fiction of the paperback era, the page count comes in at 286, making it a fast paced book with no contractual filler.  I am glad that Tor Books took the chance on a short novel like this.  It shows that they are not afraid to publish good stories without the hang up of believing that page count plays such a big part in a book purchase decision.

Oh, and the bad guy?  Not insane.  I loved it.

Highly recommended.

Michael David Ares' website - http://www.michaeldavidares.com/

Michael David Ares

Willful Child: Wrath of Betty by Steven Erikson - Book Review #165

16/15/2016

Oh, what fun!

Every once in a while it's good to take a step back and to have a bit of fun with a pillar of the science fiction genre.

I'm talking about Star Trek.  In this book we have a "Federation" and a rogue young captain who has no trouble breaking the rules to accomplish missions to his own satisfaction.

It took me a couple of chapters before I understood the author's voice in this story.  It was a crazy cacophony of geek-speak and twisted references.  Once the plot revealed itself I could sit back and enjoy what Erikson was doing.

Each chapter read like an episode from the series with an over-arching plot line to give it good continuity.

My favourite part of the book was when the crew went back in time old Earth circa 2015, to a comic convention.  This being a complete lift of the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where that crew went back in time to 1986.

I loved the banter and the observations of life as we know it today.

There is no way to talk about this book without referencing Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Yes.  It's a lot like that.  I really admire how Erikson was able to twist the Star Trek structures, add ridiculous characters and circumstances and have it make sense.

Like Adams he was also able to make a serious statement about how we live our lives and to deliver that while making me laugh.  We are dealing with a very smart author here.

This is the second book in a series.  I believe my struggles with the first couple of chapters had more to do with the author expecting the reader to have been there for the first book.  I respect that; when I am reading a series I find the effort writers make to help the first-time reader to be tedious.

I found myself stealing moments to read a page or two and bringing the book along just in case I had a few minutes to dive back in.  Most books I read do not captivate me like this one did.  I had the book with me as if it was my cell phone.

I want to thank Tor for giving me the opportunity to enjoy something so fresh and fun.

Steven Erikson -  http://www.steven-erikson.com/

Steven Erikson